of a durian ice-cream, but I do have this book, its very useful and interesting, the botanical illustrations are really lovely too. The book, beautifully illustrated with old woodcuts, explains how and why plants have been named, includes handy lists of identifying adjectives, and takes the reader down some of the stranger byways of human endeavour and eccentricity. It's going to take some time to properly enjoy it, and it's also one that I will keep by my chair to refer to often. Often times this is the case where the epithet is in the form of a dedication as in "leachiana," named for the botanist Lilla Leach. Learning the botanical names was my favourite part of the course when I was completing my first qualification as a horticulturalist, while the other students were groaning through the plant Id classes I was just enthralled, by the language of plant names, which sounded just so poetic and rolled off the tongue!

Beside history, genera and species, I want a list of vernacular names – those of the wild flowers with which we have been familiar all our lives.There are fascinating stories over here, too, and some of the early botanists in Texas were, like Kolkwitz, German. He gives examples of multiple names that existed for many plants and were used until the binomial nomenclature was adopted in the 18th century. In the succeeding chapters he continues to make serious history palatable, an antidote to the scholarly Latin that is an indispensable part of plant identification.

These are some of the questions answered in Peter Parker’s adventurous exploration of the mysteries of Botanical Latin. Parker’s Little Book of Latin is not intended to be a dictionary with a comprehensive alphabetical index. I imagine that the illustrations must be wonderful but they wouldn't be much of a joy when reading it on your Kindle.RHS Latin for Gardeners: Over 3,000 Plant Names Explained and Explored - Lorraine HarrisonLondon: Mitchell Beazley, 2012, Hardback. I still have much to learn, but plant names are so interesting – not only the Latin words, but also the botanists’ names that are so often used. Behind the Name' feature boxes further increase the book's practical value, and a wide range of botanical watercolours ensure that it is beautiful as well as functional.

The process has even been reciprocal, and my Latin vocabulary is larger now than it was when I was a teenager even though I’ve never taken another Latin course since then. A bonus is the pages in between the list… a few plants are profiled, with notes on how they got their name or certain associations and uses. Most of us are not Latin scholars or indeed trained botanists but, day by day, we need to consult and understand the meaning of both the generic and species names for our plants. WordsAndHerbs 2011-2023 Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express permission from this blog’s author is strictly prohibited.If you are approved, then your refund will be processed, and a credit will be immediately applied to your credit card or original method of payment, and should appear within a few days.

Actually, most of Latin for Gardeners is a dictionary of epithets – the second or specific names of plants, not the first or genus name. The book also features of number of plants and botanists with short, informative and interesting articles.Flaveola and lutea mean yellowish, flavens means yellow, and luridus means pale yellow (the last being the opposite of what an English speaker might expect). Biography: The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the UK's largest gardening charity, dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening.